Heartland Bank & Trust Co Has $358,000 Stock Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Heartland Bank & Trust Co raised its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,946 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. Heartland Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in Hershey were worth $358,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Scotia Capital Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 40.7% in the 4th quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 10,336 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,927,000 after buying an additional 2,988 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 256,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,864,000 after buying an additional 14,888 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 52.0% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 3,159 shares of the company’s stock worth $589,000 after buying an additional 1,081 shares in the last quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 42.3% in the 4th quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 2,121 shares of the company’s stock worth $395,000 after buying an additional 630 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 11,621 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,167,000 after buying an additional 451 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America dropped their target price on Hershey from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Citigroup lowered Hershey from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $195.00 to $182.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $179.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Hershey from $209.00 to $205.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on Hershey from $204.00 to $202.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $198.63.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total transaction of $107,153.46. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $644,912.46. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.83, for a total transaction of $286,245.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 34,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,531,729.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total value of $107,153.46. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $644,912.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hershey Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE:HSY opened at $191.75 on Tuesday. The Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $178.82 and a 12-month high of $211.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.00, a P/E/G ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 0.37. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $196.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $193.95.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.17). Hershey had a return on equity of 45.36% and a net margin of 16.76%. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.01 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 9.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were given a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.86%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.31%.

About Hershey

The Hershey Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of confectionery products and pantry items in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: North America Confectionery, North America Salty Snacks, and International. It offers chocolate and non-chocolate confectionery products; gum and mint refreshment products, including mints, chewing gums, and bubble gums; protein bars; pantry items, such as baking ingredients, toppings, beverages, and sundae syrups; and snack items comprising spreads, bars, snack bites, mixes, popcorn, and pretzels.